Knowing when to slow down: How we reported on health issues for Mark Kirk and Joe Paterno

January 23, 2012|By James Janega

When big news develops, sometimes it's important to know the value of when to wait. That was the case twice between Saturday and Monday morning, as the Chicago Tribune vetted reports of failing health for both U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk and, separately, former Penn State coach Joe Paterno.

In such a competitive information environment and with such momentous news events, the importance of slowing down may seem counterintuitive. There are so many voices capable of breaking news -- some of them in news outlets, but most of them not. And that can be an advantage for organizations like the Chicago Tribune.

A Tribune journalist first received a tip around 9:15 a.m. Monday that Sen. Kirk had suffered a stroke over the weekend, and that he was in surgery.

We told readers of it around 11 a.m. -- first via our social media resources, and then by an email alert sent to subscribers.

The time between 9:15 and 11 was spent finding a second source on the record as we simultaneously deployed political reporters, medical writers and general assignment reporters to spots where they could add important information. Background information on Kirk and his recent political past was prewritten and held in reserve. Meanwhile, our web and social media team prepared the response that would alert our readers as soon as possible.

When Washington correspondent Katherine Skiba received an email from one of Kirk's staff members, the wheels turned quickly.

They had to. Everyone had confirming information from officials at the same time.

The reason to leave it until the last few moments was made plain over the weekend, when a few news organizations responded to social media rumors -- and announced Saturday night that Joe Paterno had died when he was still alive.

Paterno's son took to Twitter to quell the misunderstanding. All of this occurred as we were vetting initial accounts and, at the time, finding that they were insubstantial. (Paterno did die Sunday morning.)

With all of the voices clamoring to be first, it's valuable for news organizations to take a step back on behalf of their readers to check it out.